If you are a bodybuilder or interested in building muscle and preserving it while losing fat, this stage is necessary for you because it depends on reducing calories and eating protein in sufficient quantities while reducing carbohydrates, and the need to lift weights to preserve muscle mass and lose fat and include lean meats ,zero fat yogurt and whole grains.
What is the cutting diet?
Usually bodybuilders follow it for a period of 2-4 months before the competition, the period of following it varies for each person according to their need and goal, but it is not a long-term phase. Usually, bodybuilders go through the bulking phase by following a high-calorie, protein-rich diet while lifting heavy weights to "bulk up" and increase muscle mass. Nutritionists call this "creating a caloric surplus" and it usually leads to a person gaining weight from fat and muscle. The cutting phase comes after the bulking phase to get rid of the fat gained during that phase while preserving the largest amount of muscle mass.
How to follow the cutting diet?
To achieve fat loss, a person needs to burn more calorie than they consume. This is called "calorie deficit" while determining the amount of essential nutrients. Maintaining protein intake is important in the cutting phase because eating enough protein can aid in fat loss by increasing metabolism, reducing appetite, and preserving muscle mass.
Some nutritional recommendations that people can use in cutting phase:
Weekly weight loss from 0.5 - 1% of body weight.
Protein: 2.3 - 3.1 grams per kilogram of body weight, or 25-30%.
Fat: 15 - 30% of total calories.
Carbohydrates: 55 - 60% of total calories or the remaining amount of calories after calculating protein and fat.
Timing of meals:
Protein intake should be spaced evenly between 3-4 hours throughout the day and two hours after exercise.
Protein and carbohydrates should be consumed before or after exercise, or both.
What should you eat?
Sports Nutrition Guidelines recommend a nutritious, balanced and varied diet to ensure that you are getting essential vitamins and minerals from food.
Foods that should be included in the cutting phase include:
Lean meats, poultry, oily fish, and eggs
Milk, yogurt, and low-fat cheese
Protein powders like whey protein, hemp, rice and peas
Beans and legumes
Nuts and seeds
Avocado, olive oil, and olives
Whole grains
Different colored fruits and vegetables
Leafy vegetables
Enough water
A cutting diet can aid in losing fat while preserving muscle mass if followed properly by reducing the need for calories and dividing nutrients properly with resistance training and weightlifting. A person can plan a cutting diet based on their calorie needs with exercise. It is for the short term only and is not used as a lifestyle diet for a long period of time because it is necessary to eat a varied and balanced diet to maintain overall health.
Sources:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/cutting-diet#how-to-do-it
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